WHO: Traffic Accidents Now Eighth Leading Cause of Death

WHO: Traffic Accidents Now Eighth Leading Cause of Death

The UN wants countries to cut their number of traffic deaths in half by the year 2020, and so far a lot of them aren't on the right track to make that goal. That's according to the World Health Organization, which revealed in its latest road safety report Friday that road traffic accidents are now the eighth-leading cause of death globally.

That's largely due to the risk of traffic deaths stagnating,while other causes of death, like HIV/AIDs and tuberculosis, improve.

And if you just look at the data for children and young adults ages 5 to 29, the WHO says traffic injuries are the No.

1 killer. The report broke down the data geographically — noting that only 1 percent of all the vehicles in the world can be found in low-income countries; but that's where 13 percent of deaths are occurring.

No low-income country saw a reduction in overall deaths since the WHO's last road safety report three years ago, while dozens of high and middle-income countries did see their death tolls decrease.

The WHO attributed that progress to nations tightening up legislation around risk factors like speed limits, seat-belts, intoxicated driving, and dedicated lanes for cyclists and motorcyclists.